Nyer - Marians - Souanyas

(en français:
http://www.randos-vernetlesbains-canigou.eu/Nyer-Marians-Souanyas.pdf)

NYER - MARIANS - SOUANYAS
Conflent, Pyrénées-Orientales, France
Duration and ascent; durée et montée: 3h45; 470m

This is a varied circuit which can be walked at all times of the year. In springtime wild flowers are abundant. Starting from the village of Nyer, notable for its imposing castle, the route passes through the villages of Marians and Souanyas, high above the Têt valley. It then climbs to an open plateau with views towards both the Mediterranean coastal plain and to surrounding hills and mountains. The descent back to Nyer is on a regional long-distance path through sunlit woodland. The paths and tracks followed on the circuit are well-used, but careful route-finding is sometimes called for.

1 - START. Nyer, in the upper part of the village, with the Maison de la Réserve on the right. (The château is on the left). At the street junction below, we go to the right, along the D57, in the direction of Olette... Just beyond the village, near a bend in the road before a washplace, a grassy path goes up on the right. We go up that path, to a path-road junction. We go to the right, along the road for a few metres, to a:

2 - Junction of the road and (on the left) a track, with an old sign saying Voie Privée (but the track is open to walkers). We go to the left, up the unsurfaced track. The track bears to the left. The track becomes a path and it traverses the hillside, climbing gently... There are excellent views back to Nyer, ahead to Canaveilles, and (to the left) to En.

3 - Path fork, just before an electricity pylon. We ignore all the yellow waymarks here, and we go along the path to the right.

4 - Path-road junction. We go to the left, down the road... On the edge of Marians village, we follow the road as it turns sharply to the left. The road winds down to:

5 - The centre of Marians, where another road joins on the left. There is a splendid viewpoint across the Têt valley, towards Oreilla, Evol (and its medieval castle), and to the mountains beyond. We go straight ahead, along the road, and we leave the village... At a road junction (the road to the left goes down to Olette), we go straight ahead... We follow the road as it climbs towards Souanyas village. We go right through the village and descend to:

6 - The far end of Souanyas. (Here, a path on the left also goes down to Olette.) We leave the village, going straight ahead, on an unsurfaced track. The track descends a little and soon goes under a power line... The track contours around the hillside.

7 - Track fork. We go to the right. A long ascent begins here... Under the power line again, we ignore another track which go to the left and we go up our track which zig-zags up the open hillside... At a track junction we go to the left. The track, here on the level, soon brings us to a:

8 - Complex track junction. We turn to the right, and then we immediately turn to the right again. Our track climbs again... At a track fork, we follow the main track to the left. The track bears to the right, with a meadow on the right. At a track fork we go to the left. At a track junction we go to the left. (A little distance away on the left is a landscaped hillside where there was formerly a huge fluorspar quarry.) Our track bears to the right. There is then a fairly long, steady climb to a:

9 - Junction of tracks, at a sharp bend in the track opposite. We go to the left, and we follow the track opposite. There is a pylon on the right... The track emerges onto a plateau, with another pylon, on the right. We continue straight ahead towards a:

10 - Crossing of tracks. (The preserved remains of a furnace, formerly used for treating the iron ore which used to be mined nearby, is visible on the left.) We follow the track opposite, on the right (we ignore a yellow cross)... The track contours around the hillside and it passes a farm building, on the right... We go past a former iron ore mining area, with old mine buildings on the left. A path joins our track on the left. We follow the track uphill and we soon arrive at a:

11 - Track-path fork. We go to the right, along the path. There follows a long descent to Nyer. We are now on a regional long-distance path called the Tour des Réserves Naturelles (we follow this path all the way back to Nyer). The path is indicated by red-and-yellow waymarks... The path descends in woodland... One section may be very wet underfoot... The path crosses a track... It meets the track again and we follow the track downhill for a short distance... We turn to the right and descend on the path to a:

12 - Path-track crossing (from near here there are fine views down to Nyer)... We descend on the path opposite. We soon meet the track again and follow it for a short distance... Where the track bends to the left, we go straight ahead, to descend on the path... The path crosses a stream, then it follows a terrace path (with, on the left, a view up the Nyer Gorge).

13 - Path-street junction, on the edge of Nyer village. We go to the left, along the street... The château is on the right. We descend to a small square with a fountain. We go to the right and we pass the mairie (town hall) of Nyer. After a short distance, we turn right and we return to the start of this circuit, opposite the Maison de la Réserve.

Pdf version at:
http://www.walks-vernetlesbains-canigou.eu/wikiloc/Nyer-Marians-Souanyas.pdf